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Home , Diana Soviero, Dorothy DeLay, Maria Katzarava, Mark Zeltser, Neil Rosenshein, Opera Colorado

REGULAR COACHES’ BIOGRAPHIES—SPRING 2018

Pianist NOBUKO AMEMIYA has built a reputation as a dynamic and versatile collaborator; her playing is described as “soaring with a thrilling panache, and then with great warmth and suppleness.” (Valley News, VT) Equally committed to vocal and instrumental chamber music, she traveled three continents to give recitals and concerts with numerous renowned conductors and soloists such as , , Brian Priestman, James Dunham, Colin Carr, Rober Spano, and Lucy Shelton. An enthusiastic advocate of new music, Ms. Amemiya has worked with and performed music by many of today’s leading composers, including John Harbison, George Crumb, Bright Sheng, Oliver Knussen and George Benjamin. Ms. Amemiya engaged in various music festivals throughout the world, including Festival de Música da Figueira da Foz in Portugal, Britten-Pears Institute at Aldeburgh Music Festival, International Institute of Vocal Arts in , Festival de Musique Lausanne in Switzerland, Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center where she was awarded Tanglewood Hooton Prize, acknowledging the “extraordinary commitment of talent and energy.” She earned prizes and awards at international competitions, including “Vittorio Gui” in Florence, Italy, the International Music Competition, Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition, Manhattan School of Music President’s Award, Aldeburgh Music Festival Grant, SongFest Faculty Award and OperaNorth Special Recognition Award. Ms. Amemiya studied with distinguished artists such as Claude Frank, John Perry, Margo Garrett, Rita Sloan, Abbey Simon, and Emmanuel Ax, and holds double DMA degrees in Solo Piano and Collaborative Piano Performances. Also active as a coach and educator, she worked for AIMS in Graz, North, Aspen Music School, IIVA in Italy, Bronx Opera, Garden State Opera, Grinnell College, New England Conservatory and University of Kansas. Ms. Amemiya currently works for the Manhattan School of Music, Palazzo Ricci Akademie für Musik in Montepulciano, Italy, Lotte Lehmann Akademie and Lyric Opera Studio Weimar in Germany, and is a music director of the enCANTA Collective in New York City.

Accompanist/vocal coach, KARINA AZATYAN, extensively collaborates with leading figures of vocal art in United States, and Israel. She has developed original method of coaching singers in Russian language based on knowledge of Italian, German, French and English IPA. On a stage Ms. Azatyan was heard in concerts with soloists from , New Israeli Opera, Kirov Opera House, Bolshoj Theater, House and many others. Among many distinguished artists Ms. Azatyan worked with and for are Oksana Krovytska, Dimitri Kavrakos, Richard Troxell, Angela Brown, Veronica Villaroel, Arthur Levy, Rita Shane, , Maria Cleva (UK), Dan Ettinger (Israel), Robert Cowart, Nico Castel, James M. DeBlasis, Ljuba Kazarnovskaya (Russia), Charlie Ricker, Paolo Montarsolo (Italy), Bruno Rigacci (Italy), Svetlana Sandler (Israel), John Norris and Marc Verzatt. Ms. Azatyan has accompanied master classes with such artists as Vera Rozsa, , , Barbieri, , Anna Moffo, Lucine Amara, Lauren Flanigan, Rashel Shulova, Michael Cordovana, Mignon Dunn, Martin Isepp, Martin Katz, Brian Zeger and John Wustman. She has served as accompanist and language coach for Opera Lyra in Ottawa, Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Virginia Opera, New Jersey Association of Opera, Israel Vocal Arts Institute, Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy, Brooklyn College Opera Theater. Ms. Azatyan holds a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music in Accompanying, a Master’s Degree from the Brooklyn College, and Artists Diploma from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Piano Solo Performance where she also studied church organ and harpsichord. Her teachers include Warren Jones, Yelena Kurdina, Yevgeny Shenderovitch, Alexander Tamir, Yelena Galustova, Yelena Kaminskaya and Rashel Shulova. The Opera Insider wrote about Zarzuela concert in Carnegie Hall: “We must mention the excellent piano work of Karina Azatyan who was particularly fine accompanying Ms.Belaval in Turina’s soulful Saeta en forma de salve a la virgen de la esperanza.” 2014 The Berkshire Review for the Arts wrote about the Carnegie Hall concert: “the excellent piano accompaniment of Karina Azatyan…..” 2008

CORY BATTEY is a vocal coach and pianist hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, Cory served on the music staff of Palm Beach Opera, where he coached the young artists, led classroom lectures, and accompanied their productions. Cory has also been busy as a répétiteur around the country, and he spent this past season working on productions with Portland Opera, Opera Omaha, Wichita Grand Opera, and Hubbard Hall Opera. Last summer, Cory returned to Opera in the Ozarks for his fifth season, marking his second season as senior vocal coach. Prior to this, Cory has had opportunities to work with several major opera companies throughout the country, including Sarasota Opera, Nashville Opera, Kentucky Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, and Shreveport Opera. Cory has also enjoyed the privilege of working with aspiring opera singers, helping to coach young artists at the University of Memphis, Brevard Music Center, Seagle Music Colony, and the Astoria Music Festival training programs, in addition to his work with Opera in the Ozarks. This is Cory's first year joining the Manhattan School of Music coaching staff.

1 FÁBIO BEZUTI, pianist and vocal coach has performed at numerous international opera festivals and has given recitals in Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, the U.S. and Switzerland. He served as the musical director and pianist for Charles Wuorinen’s opera, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (based upon the book by Salman Rushdie) and as the conductor in a recent production of the A Dinner Engagement by Lennox Berkeley in São Paulo, Brazil. He has prepared a diverse array of challenging pieces ranging from Ravel’s L'enfant et les Sortilèges to Wagner's Ring Cycle for the Amazon Theater in Brazil. Mr. Bezuti is the music director and current conductor of a project in São Paulo that brings opera to underprivileged children and families in the region. For over 3 seasons, they have performed La Serva Padrona in Portuguese for around 5 to 6 thousand people. Currently, Mr. Bezuti is a collaborative pianist and vocal coach at Manhattan School of Music, and has been performing recitals in New York, Philadelphia and other major U.S. cities. Mr. Bezuti studied with distinguished pianists Dalton Baldwin, Thomas Muraco, Ted Taylor and J.J. Penna.

TRAVIS BLOOM is a sought after accompanist and coach in NYC. With a passion for the vocal arts, Mr. Bloom’s coaching platform is based on musical accuracy, performance practice techniques, dramatic integrity, diction accuracy, and vocal health in alignment with the Bel Canto school of singing. In 2012, Travis was an M.M. Voice Performance student at the illustrious Jacobs School of Music where he also studied accompanying/opera coaching with Kevin Murphy. The following year, he joined the Indiana University Ballet and Opera Theater music staff as pianist/coach for Rossini's Italian Girl in Algiers, Menotti's The Last Savage, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Rossini’s , and J. Strauss’ . While at IU he accompanied numerous voice recitals, master classes, competitions, auditions, and opera workshop productions. Prior to coaching at IU, he worked as the chorus master for the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival (2010-2012) training opera choruses for Bizet's Carmen and Verdi's La Traviata. In the summer of 2015, Mr. Bloom served as the staff pianist for the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany where he was also selected by casting director, Andreas Geier, to accompany auditions at the Baden-Baden Opera House. More recently, Travis served as a staff pianist for the Bronx Opera company and is the music director of Faith Lutheran Church in Syosset, NY. This past summer, he served as a pianist with the International Vocal Arts Institute under the direction of Joan Dornemann and Paul Nadler and was the faculty coach for Joan Patenaude-Yarnell’s summer voice institute in NYC.

JEREMY CHAN is an Australian pianist and vocal coach based in New York City. Recent engagements include the 2017 China tour of Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber, appearances with the American String Quartet, Hector del Curto Quintet, Choirs of America, and productions with Loft Opera (Otello, Le Comte Ory), Alarm Will Sound/ Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (The Hunger), Aspen Opera Center (A Wedding), Opera Upper West (La Voix Humaine). Mr. Chan was the official pianist for the Aspen Opera Center New York City auditions. An active advocate for contemporary music, Mr. Chan has been involved in the world premieres of pieces by Yehudi Wyner, Frank Lerdahl, Bruce Saylor, Z. Randall Stroope, René Clausen and appears on Bright Sheng’s upcoming release on the NAXOS label, while his own compositions have earned him recognition from the Fellowship of Australian Composers. Mr. Chan received degrees from Queens College, Manhattan School of Music and additional training at the Georg Solti Accademia, Tanglewood Music Center, Toronto Summer Music Festival Academy and the Vancouver International Song Institute.

MIRIAM CHARNEY – refer to MSM faculty bios at à http://www.msmnyc.edu/FacultyBio

Brazilian pianist and voice coach, MOZART DE OLIVEIRA is a highly sought-after musician. Enjoying a multi- faceted career, he has performed at Avery Fisher Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall as well as concert halls throughout Europe, the Middle East and South America. His students sing in major opera houses around the world, including the Vienna Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper, House, Houston Grand Opera, and San Jose Opera. As part of the faculty at Boston Conservatory, Mr. de Oliveira worked as a vocal coach before relocating to New York where he worked for several seasons as the assistant chorus master at New York City Opera. As a collaborative artist, he participated in master classes with legends such as , Ken Noda, Martin Katz, Charles Reiner and Daniel Ferro. Mr. de Oliveira currently works as a vocal coach at Manhattan School of Music, Israeli Opera House (Meitar Opera Studio) and IVAI in Tel Aviv.

2 JONATHAN HEANEY is a Piano Fellow for the Vocal Arts department at the . He recently completed his master's degree in vocal accompanying at Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Warren Jones. He served as a staff pianist for the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC in 2014-17 for their productions of Le nozze di Figaro, , Così fan tutte, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Albert Herring, , and Sweeney Todd. He was also the assistant conductor for Die Zauberflöte and the world premiere of Falling Angel by J. Mark Scearce. In addition to his work at Juilliard, Jonathan is the co-founder, music director, and conductor of a start-up opera company in New York City called ARE Opera.

A versatile pianist, RIKO HIGUMA has performed with world's leading artists throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. As a soloist, she was a top-prize winner at the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition and the Santa Fe International Piano Competition. Notably, she was one of the Young Artists for the Van Cliburn Piano Institute in Fort Worth, where she appeared as a soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony. Ms.Higuma's collaborations on the recital and concert stage have included artists such as Aaron Rosand, Albert Markov, , Cho-Liang Lin, Alan Gilbert, Steven Tanenbom, Dora Schwarzberg, Timothy Eddy, Yovan Markovitch, Suren Bagratuni, Jeffrey Solow, Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Ray Chen, among others. Appearances in music festivals include Lidal North at the Norwegian Opera House, Zodiac Academy and Festival in France, Summer Voice Program in New York, International Academy of Music in Italy, Intermezzo voice festival in Belgium, La Jolla Chamberfest, New DOCTA festival in Argentina, New Music On the Point in Vermont as a member of the American Modern Ensemble and the Summit Music Festival in New York, where she performed a gala recital with the legendary violinist Aaron Rosand. Most recently, Ms. Higuma was the rehearsal pianist for the premier of Lera Auerbach’s violin concerto, working with violinist Leonidas Kavakos. As a founding member of the Zodiac Trio, she has claimed top prizes at international competitions such as the International Peninsula Young Artist Festival, Yellow Spring Chamber Music Competition, Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation, and the Cziffra Foundation audition. Amongst its many engagements, the Zodiac Trio has appeared at the Festival Radio France Montpellier, International Colmar Festival in France, Ottawa Chamberfest in Canada, Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, the Oriental Performing Arts Center in Shanghai, National Performing Arts Center in Beijing, Izumi Hall in , Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Tishman Auditorium and Merkin Concert Hall in New York, UCLA Clark Library in CA; has been broadcast by France 3 Television, Beijing’s CCTV News, Canada’s CBC Radio and Television, WXQR (including an hour-long in-studio feature on the Young Artist Showcase), had performances broadcast live on WFMT, featured on WGBH’s “Live from Frasier” in Boston, and has recorded multiple times for Radio France in . The Zodiac Trio is under the management of Latitude 45 of Montreal, Canada. Ms.Higuma studied with Phillip Kawin at the Manhattan School of Music and chamber music with the Ysaye String Quartet in their Superior Chamber Music Program in Paris. Currently she is engaged as a staff pianist and vocal coach at the Manhattan School of Music.

Baritone and pianist JIA-JUN HONG studied in Manhattan School of Music for his first master's degree in voice from 2013 to 2015, studying with Neil Rosenshein, and then for his second master's degree in piano accompanying from 2015 to 2017, studying with Thomas Muraco. As a baritone, his credits include: Papageno in by Mozart, Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen by Janacek, Taddeo in L'italiana in Algeri by Rossini, Bass solo in Bach B Minor Mass, Mozart C minor Mass (cover), Brahms German Requiem. As a pianist, his opera credits include Luisa Miller by Verdi, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Mozart, by Donizetti, La Voix Humaine by Poulenc and Suor Angelica by Puccini. He is hired by the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in the 2017-18 season.

CHUN-WEI KANG, coach/pianist, is a native of Taiwan. She has performed in concerts both as soloist and ensemble performer throughout the United States, Canada and East Asia. Ms. Kang has appeared on national Taiwanese television in recitals with violinist Long-Long Kang, was broadcast in Japan with soprano Monique McDonald, and appeared on PBS SundayArts in a showcase for rising young opera singers. She has won several awards and scholarships including the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Memorial Award, which was given to “a musician who demonstrated outstanding professionalism in collaborative piano.” She has served as staff pianist in the National Music Competition in Taiwan, Canadian Provincial Festival, the Centro Studi Italiani Opera Festival, and International Vocal Arts Institute (New York, Virginia, Puerto Rico and Montreal). A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master’s degree, Ms. Kang is a faculty member at Manhattan School of Music and Long Island University. She also serves as the Music Director for MSM’s Opera Role Preparation Workshop directed by legendary mezzo-soprano Mignon Dunn, and has been the Assistant Music Director for the New Choral Society since 2007, and was the Assistant Music Director for The Tailor of Gloucester at Manhattan School of Music. In addition, Ms. Kang is the artistic director for two programs in Asia: Creative Voice Institute (Taiwan) and Vocal Coach Asia (Singapore). Ms. Kang has appeared on many stages including David Geffen Hall and Carnegie Hall. She has worked with internationally acclaimed masters such as Anne Epperson, Warren Jones, Nico Castel, Paul Nadler and Joan Dornemann.

3 ANDREW KING is a New York City based pianist and tenor. He has performed as piano soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and the LeMoyne College String Ensemble. He has also performed several operatic roles, including Ramiro in La Cenerentola and Arsamene in Serse. Andrew has worked for the past five years as a private vocal coach and music teacher in New York City and is currently studying Collaborative Piano under Warren Jones. January sees Andrew at Carnegie Hall as an accompanist for The Song Continues, with masterclasses taught by Renée Fleming, Marilyn Horne, and Graham Johnson. He will be attending the Music Academy of the West this summer. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

ROBERT KOPELSON has appeared as piano soloist, collaborator, chamber musician and conductor on four continents for as many decades. He has worked with such distinguished musicians as , Dorothy DeLay, Janos Starker, Cho-liang Lin, Robert McDuffie, Joel Smirnoff, Paul Doktor, Felix Galimir, Renata Scotto, Christa Ludwig, Anna Moffo, , John Aler, Heidi Grant Murphy, Hugues Cuénod, , Jan de Gaetani, Alexander Kipnis, Lotte Lenya, , Jennie Tourel, Pierre Bernac and Tito Gobbi. He has been an assisting artist with the Martina Arroyo Foundation, the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program (Greve in Chianti, Italy), Carnegie Hall Presentations, the Spoleto Vocal Institute, and festivals such as Aspen and Tanglewood. He has taught at the Yale and Syracuse University Schools of Music, Loyola-New Orleans, New York, Seoul City, Sook-Myung Women’s and Seoul National Universities, the Mannes College of Music and the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam. Since 2001 he has been on the Related Vocal Studies faculty of MSM. . Also refer to MSM faculty bios at à http://www.msmnyc.edu/FacultyBio

JI YOUNG LEE is an accomplished musician with extensive experience as a solo pianist and vocal coach. Ms. Lee has been teaching at the Manhattan School of Music since 2002 and she is a faculty at Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and also is an adjunct faculty member at New York University. She worked as a vocal coach at The Chautauqua Institution. Past teaching engagements include working as an apprentice coach for the Merola Program for two years. Ms. Lee’s performances include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center, where she performed in the gala concert “Sing for Hope.” She has served as the pianist for numerous Master Classes, including those of Marilyn Horne, Graham Johnson, Fedora Barbieri, Lauren Flanigan, Jane Eaglen, Tom Krause, Steven Blier, Licia Albanese, Robert Lloyd, Shirley Verrett. Also, she has been performed with many promising young singers in New York and has been a recital pianist for the up-rising star, baritone, Lucas Meachem. Born in South , Ms. Lee earned her Bachelor of Music from Yonsei University in Seoul, and a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Juilliard School. Ms. Lee holds Professional Studies Certificates from The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. She is a fellowship recipient and past attendee at the Music Academy of the West, where she won the prestigious Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition in 2000. Ms. Lee resides in New York City with her husband and two children.

ANN LEWIN is a native New Yorker and a graduate of the High School of Music and Art, Barnard College and U.C.L.A. (Master of Arts in Music). She has studied coaching with Alberta Masiello, Felix Popper, Joan Dornemann and Natalie Limonick; advanced piano with Alan Marks and Elizabeth Moschetti; composition and orchestration with Roy Harris; conducting and score reading with Rudolf Thomas; and voice with Edith Gordon Ainsberg. She has been assistant conductor and coach/pianist for over 50 opera productions in the United States for New Orleans Opera, Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, Opera Colorado, Michigan Opera Theater, Mississippi Opera, Opera Carolina and Vancouver Opera. She has been on staff at Opera Music Theater International (OMTI), Opera Colorado Young Artists Training Center and the University of Texas at Austin, where she was principal coach and lecturer. Since 2000, she has been on the faculty of Mannes College. In addition, Ms. Lewin has performed many recitals throughout the U.S., including 20 with Metropolitan Opera tenor and diction specialist, Nico Castel. Since 2003, Ms. Lewin has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Also refer to MSM faculty bios at à http://www.msmnyc.edu/FacultyBio

Pianist and vocal coach GIOVANNI LONGO recently made his Carnegie Hall debut shortly after his successful Lincoln Center debut with New York Lyric Opera Theatre in a production of Puccini’s . He has been receiving many accolades for his extraordinary orchestral pianistic skills and his sensitive artistry. He has served as Assistant music director/vocal coach at Sarasota Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Indianapolis Opera and DiCapo Opera Theater in New York City, the Tuscia Opera Festival in Viterbo, Italy and the Narnia Vocal Arts Academy in Narni, Italy. Recent productions include Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Puccini’s La Boheme, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Leoncavallo’s , Ward’s The Crucible, Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and Massenet’s Cendrillon. Giovanni Longo was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, by a family of Italian immigrants, who raised him with Italian as his primary language. He attended both French

4 and English schools, and is trilingual. For his musical studies he attended the renowned McGill University and graduated with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Piano Performance. His teachers included distinguished Canadian pianists, Richard Raymond and Michael McMahon. Giovanni Longo specializes in the verismo works of Puccini and Verdi for which he feels a high level of affinity. In the instrumental world, he is highly sought after for chamber music as well. He currently resides in New York City where he has enjoys a successful coaching studio and continues to work with opera companies nationally and internationally. He is currently a Music Director for New York Lyric Opera Theatre and is on staff at Manhattan School of Music and Hunter College where he serves as vocal coach and accompanist.

MARIO ANTONIO MARRA, sought after collaborative pianist and coach, is currently serving on the and San Francisco Opera music staffs. He is a recent alumnus of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center young artist program at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Until 2015, he was on the coaching staff of the Manhattan School of Music, while earning a Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Warren Jones. An active recitalist, recent seasons have included performances with Eric Owens, Quinn Kelsey, Richard Ollarsaba, and with Stephanie Blythe in her widely celebrated Sing America! program. Marra has also for the last two years curated a recital of Neapolitan Music for the Art Institute of Chicago in conjunction with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Pianist KANAE MATSUMOTO, originally from Japan, has performed around the world both as soloist and collaborator with instrumentalists, singers, dancers and painters. Showtime Magazine in Toronto has described her as an “outstanding pianist.... unfailingly crisp, warm and sensitive.” From 2006-13, Kanae was a member of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) music faculty as collaborative pianist and teacher of piano and chamber music. Since 2006, she has been an instrumental accompanist and coach at the Chautauqua Institution School of Music; in 2016, she joined the School of Music Voice Faculty at Chautauqua. Kanae is also a member of the Classical Singing & New York in June (CSNY) since 2014. Kanae holds Master’s and Doctoral degrees in piano performance from UCLA. In 2014, she completed her Professional Studies Certificate in Vocal Accompanying at the Manhattan School of Music, where she is currently a staff accompanist and coach.

Coach/conductor DAVID MAYFIELD trained with exponents of Italian Bel Canto such as Nicola Rescigno, Roberto Benaglio (teacher of Piero Cappuccilli), Fiora Contino, and Donald Palumbo (chorus master of the MET). In New York since 1997, has been on the staff of MSM since 2002, coaching at MSM’s Summer Vocal Festival 2009, 2011. He also coached at the New School (The Actor’s Studio) and was opera coach for productions at Brooklyn Conservatory. At New Jersey City University, he teaches vocal literature, diction; has also curated recitals of American art song since 1985, and an audio-visual survey mélodie from Martini through Poulenc, and conducted Opera Workshop. He has worked with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theater at Wildwood, Lyric Opera of Dallas, Fort Worth Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Illinois, Dell’Arte Opera, The , New Orleans Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Orquestra Regiomontana (Monterrey), and many other companies. His repertoire ranges from Aïda and The Faerie Queen to and Mrs. Satan. A guest artist at U of Minn.-Duluth, he played on the Ovation recital series (2012), and was in residence (2014, 2016); he has been a coach for Joan Dornemann’s IVAI (Chiari, Italy; 2006, 2007), and coached Lauren Flanigan/William Neill’s Audition Bootcamp (2012, 2013) Masterclasses he has played include Horst Günter, Dominick Argento, Lauren Flanigan, Joan Dornemann, Neil Funkhauser, and Liza Minnelli. His students performed at the Merola Opera Studio, Prague Summer Nights, Chatauqua Institute, Miami Opera Festival, Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance, Saratoga Opera, and at the International Verdi Competition in Busseto, Italy; his student SOL JIN won the MET Auditions. At the Catskills-based Phoenicia Festival of the Voice he has been music director of The Medium, played a recital of American song for Lauren Flanigan and Keith Phares with composer Ricky Ian Gordon, and been chorus master for Otello and La Bohème, and gave classes for the young artists’ program. 2017 includes playing continuo for Don Giovanni (South Dakota Symphony), chorus master for La Bohème (Phoenicia Festival), and conducting Trouble in Tahiti; in 2018 he will conduct Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio and the Stabat Mater.

5 Atlanta-native THOMAS MORRIS is a New York-based pianist and vocal coach. He previously worked at Indiana University as a studio, class, and rehearsal pianist and coach. He has spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School in the collaborative piano and opera coaching programs. Mr. Morris also spent one summer as a staff pianist at the Castleton Festival, as well as multiple summers at the Harrower Opera Summer Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University where he studied piano as well as composition. As part of this degree, Mr. Morris spent a semester in Vienna, Austria, where he studied German language, opera and Lieder. He is currently in his second year of his Masters at the Manhattan School of Music studying under Warren Jones.

JAMES A. NAUMANN is a versatile musician, well adept as a performer, vocal coach, musicologist, and classroom teacher. He has played for numerous vocal competitions and masterclasses with such renowned artists as Marilyn Horne, Lucy Shelton, Lauren Flanigan, Diana Soviero, Martin Katz, June Anderson, Susan Anthony, and Timothy Noble. He has coached numerous opera scenes programs and a growing list of complete , including Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi; Gounod’s ; Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea; Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte. His foreign language experience includes German, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. In addition to degrees in piano and organ performance, he completed his PS in collaborative piano at MSM under Thomas Muraco in 2013 and is currently a candidate for a PhD in musicology at Ohio State University.

Performer and pedagogue LEANN OVERTON currently serves on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music and the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. Ms. Overton has taught on the faculties of Long Island University (C. W. Post campus), Carnegie Mellon University, Chautauqua Voice School, New York Actor’s Studio, and Mannes College The New School of Music. She has been music director/vocal coach for summer festivals and opera companies including Lingua e Canto, Oberlin in Italy, Midsummer Music Festival in Canada, Vocal Arts Symposium of Colorado Springs, Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy in association with Cincinnati Conservatory, , and . Since 2000 Ms Overton has served as music director for the Manhattan School of Music educational outreach productions, opera scenes and song recitals for the undergraduate opera theater as well as vocal coach for graduate and undergraduate recitals. She has served as music director for MSM precollege opera workshop since 2003. As adjunct professor at Montclair State, Ms. Overton prepares students for degree recitals as well as roles in the main stage opera productions. She has not only served as music director for the opera workshop class, but also has created and directed opera scenes programs focused on the specific needs of the undergraduate vocal major. Ms. Overton’s conducting debut was in the fall of 2010 for director Jan Prokop’s opera scenes program at the Kasser Theater on the Montclair campus. In 2014 Ms. Overton founded “Respiro Opera, NYC,” a program built on the basics of singing: breath (yoga), body alignment (Alexander Technique and Body Mapping), text study, and musical style. An enthusiastic proponent of the Alexander Technique, Ms. Overton continues her collaboration with AT instructor Bill Connington, author of Physical Expression on Stage and Screen: Using the Alexander Technique to Create Unforgettable Performances. Ms. Overton earned her Master of Music degree in vocal coaching/accompanying at the University of Illinois with accompanist John Wustman. She has been a surtitle caller at the Metropolitan Opera since 2000.

JESTIN PIEPER, an active member in NYC’s classical music community, is a concert and collaborative pianist, vocal coach, conductor and educator. A versatile performer, Mr. Pieper has appeared in major venues across the country and abroad. A few highlights include appearances on the WNYC Leonard Lopatte show, guest artist at the Discovery Channel Curiosity Retreat, performances at Symphony Space, and the National Opera Center in NYC, the Long Center in Austin TX, and Harris Hall in Aspen Co. As a collaborator, Jestin has been a staff pianist for the Mediterranean Opera Studio in Sicily, the Accedmeia Vocale di Lorenzo Malfati in Lucca, Italy, and the Manhattan Opera Studio in NYC. Jestin has served as an assistant conductor for several companies in NYC. In 2016, Jestin made his conducting debut performing “The Olympic Flame” at the Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center with the Hellenic Orchestra. Jestin also served as music director of Create Opera’s fully staged performance of Strauss’ Elektra, which was part of the NY Opera Fest. As an educator for more than a decade, Mr. Pieper has presented at state and local conventions, and has served as a masterclass teacher across the country. As a Steinway education partner and a member of MTNA, he has a successful piano studio, with students actively performing, getting into and attending performing arts schools, and one that was just accepted into the MET Opera chorus. Mr. Pieper is in the library of congress with The only available arrangement of Mahler's 4th symphony for two-pianos. Jestin is currently a Faculty Pianist for the Sherill Milnes voice

6 programs, is an assistant conductor at Regina Opera, and is on staff as a vocal coach and accompanist at Manhattan School of Music. He holds a BM magnum cum laude from Lawerence University, and MM in piano performance from University of Texas at Austin Texas. His principal teachers include Dmitry Novgorodsky, Catherine Kautsky, Anton Nel and William Hicks. Mr. Pieper is originally from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Ohio native SHANE SCHAG has performed in recital both as soloist and ensemble performer throughout the United States and Europe, including a concerto performance with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. He has won several awards and scholarships, including the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Memorial Award, given to “a musician who demonstrated outstanding professionalism in collaborative piano.” He has worked as a vocal coach for Centro Studi Italiani Opera Festival and as an assistant conductor for the Gotham Chamber Opera. In 2007, Mr. Schag made his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Now he serves as staff pianist for Carnegie Hall’s Muscial Explorers and Link Up concert series. He also serves as the staff pianist for the Lotte Lenya Competition in Rochester, New York. Recently, Mr. Schag appeared on PBS Sunday Arts in a showcase for rising young opera singers. He has been the pianist and musical director for numerous recitals and cabaret acts including Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, by Deborah Karpel. Mr Schag is a member of the recital coaching faculty and resident musical director for the American Musical Theater Ensemble at the Manhattan School of Music. He has also served on the faculty of Operaworks in Los Angeles and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv and Virginia.

GORDON SCHERMER is an extremely versatile pianist, vocal coach and conductor. Recent engagements as a conductor include La Traviata and Carmen at Opera Maine, and Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Tulsa Opera and La Cenerentola for Opera on Tap. As a pianist, Mr. Schermer has performed in venues such as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts and Salle Bourgie in Montréal. In Montréal, he helped recreate a unique two- piano transcription of Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias originally arranged by Benjamin Britten for the Aldeburgh Festival. Mr. Schermer has worked for The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Michigan Opera Theatre, Tulsa Opera, Opera Maine and the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has appeared in master classes given by Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Mignon Dunn, , Ben Heppner, Carol Vaness, Catherine Malfitano and Nathan Gunn and has worked with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Andrew Davis and Stephen Lord. Upcoming engagements include Faust with Kentucky Opera and the Fauré Requiem with the Louisville Ballet. Mr. Schermer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s Degree in Accompanying from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Ian Hobson, Kenneth Merrill and John Wustman.

ERIC SEDGWICK is a pianist, accompanist and vocal coach based in New York City. He has served as a faculty accompanist for the Tanglewood Music Center, as pianist for Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearsals, and as accompanist for seminars with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. He has also been a coach and music director for many years at the OperaWorks program in Los Angeles. In concert he has appeared with performers including Leona Mitchell, Marni Nixon, longtime NY Philharmonic English hornist Thomas Stacy, and Broadway leading ladies Sarah Rice and Carol Demas. He is the official accompanist for the Art Song Preservation Society of New York as well as New York City’s Stonewall Chorale. Locally he has been affiliated with Opera Singers Initiatives, Rhymes with Opera, La Forza dell’Opera, Bard Summerscape productions, Broadway Concerts Direct, and the Center for Contemporary Opera. Born in Worcester, MA, he holds degrees from Brown University and Manhattan School of Music. Singers he has coached have performed in opera houses around the world as well as on- and off- Broadway. He has been on the Manhattan School of Music coaching staff since 2008.

7 HYERIM SONG, a native Korean, is an active collaborative pianist and coach in the US and Korea. Ms. Song has served on a resident coach and pianist at INSIEM Opera, coaching the casts of La Traviata, Don Giovanni, Hansel and Gretel and playing for various opera scenes as well as chorus. She has worked and collaborated with Seoul Metropolitan Opera on Cavalleria Rusticana, , L'enfant et les sortilèges and Rigoletto. Also Ms. Song has been the pianist for prestigious Master Classes, including those of Marilyn Horne, Renée Fleming, Martina Arroyo, Eric Owens, Martin Katz, Stephen Smith, Stephen King, Deborah Polaski, Diana Soviero, Lauren Flanigan, Sanford Sylvan, Rudolf Piernay and John Fisher. In addition, she was awarded the vocal collaborative pianist fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and was granted a full scholarship to from SongFest at Colburn where she worked closely with Libby Larsen, Graham Johnson, Jake Heggie, Alan Smith, and John Musto. Furthermore, she was a member of the staff pianists at the New Opera NYC, New York Summer Music Festival, American Protégé International Music Competition Euro Music Festival and Yewool Vocal Music Festival as well as participated in Korea National Opera Festival. Ms. Song received a master’s degree from both of Manhattan School of Music and Sungshin Women’s University in Collaborative Piano. Currently she is pursuing a DMA and studying with Kenneth Merrill.

ANDREW SUN is a sought-after collaborative pianist and vocal coach. Currently on the coaching staff at Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Sun was a Merola Opera Program artist in summer 2017, and a fellow at the Music Academy of the West in 2015 and 2016. He has also served as assistant conductor and rehearsal pianist for the dell'Arte Opera Ensemble and NYU Steinhardt. In 2016, Mr. Sun was engaged by Carnegie Hall to perform on their Neighborhood Concerts series, and to participate in “The Song Continues,” a week-long series of masterclasses and recitals. In 2012, he performed the radio broadcast premiere of the then newly- discovered Albumblatt by Johannes Brahms, for which he is cited in the Bärenreiter edition. Other performance highlights include vocal masterclasses with Marilyn Horne, Sir Thomas Allen, Stephanie Blythe, Martin Katz, and Thomas Hampson. Mr. Sun holds bachelor's and master's degrees from New York University and a Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers include Warren Jones, Eduardus Halim, and Grant Wenaus.

Latvian pianist EVGENIA TRUKSA is a vocal coach and a collaborative artist based in New York City. Before moving to the United States to study on a full scholarship with distinguished Russian pianist and teacher Mark Zeltser, Evgenia has served at as a rehearsal pianist at the Latvian National Opera in Riga, Latvia. She holds a Master’s Degree in Solo Piano Performance from Texas Christian University, and Professional Studies Certificate in Accompanying from Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers include Mark Zeltser, Nikita Fitenko, Tamas Ungar, Daniel Pollack, and Tomas Muraco. Ms. Truksa has been a prize- winner at several International Piano Competitions including V.Horowitz Piano Competition, Wideman Piano Competition, MTNA Piano Competition, and has performed extensively in Europe and the United States both as a solo and collaborative artist. Ms. Truksa has worked and performed with such conductors as Philip Mann, David Jackson, and Thomas Muraco, and appeared in master classes given by Veda Kaplinsky, Marilyn Horne, Stephanie Blythe, Diana Soviero, Thomas Hampson, Catherine Malfitano and Neil Rosenshein among others. In addition to her engagements in the United States, Ms.Truksa regularly returns to her native Latvia for teach and perform. Ms. Truksa has been on the accompanying staff at Texas Christian University, San Diego University, has served as a rehearsal pianist/coach for MSM Summer Voice Festival (2011/2014) and is currently serving as a vocal coach and a staff pianist at Manhattan School of Music, New York.

ABDIEL VÁZQUEZ is a seasoned concert pianist and conductor. This Fall he is conducting with Opera Company of Brooklyn productions of Simon Boccanegra and Dialogues des Carmelites and is touring with soprano Maria Katzarava in La Voix Humaine. This year he also worked as assistant conductor for Opera in Williamsburg in productions of Don Giovanni and La Cenerentola. His debut album Love & Death: Piano Transcriptions of Wagner and Verdi Operas has been hailed by international critics as “fascinating”, “all first class playing”, and “one of the most entertaining recitals in memory”. The press has described his style at the piano as “authoritative” and at the podium as “emphatic and passionate”. Vázquez has performed as a soloist with orchestras in South America, Europe and the United States. In Mexico, he performs every season with all the major orchestras including the National Symphony, 's Philharmonic, and State of Mexico Symphony orchestras. He is also the founder and director of the Symphonic Youth of Monterrey.

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WILLIAM WOODARD is a recent graduate from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and is now pursuing his Master's Degree in Collaborative Piano at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Warren Jones. While at Vanderbilt, Woodard worked with the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre as a coach and rehearsal pianist on projects such as Mark Adamo's Little Women and Michael Ching's Speed Dating Tonight. Woodard has attended summer festivals such as Songfest, Bowdoin International Chamber Music Fesitval, AIMS in Graz where he was awarded the Outstanding Lieder Pianist Award and the Aspen Music Festival the past two summers with a Vocal Piano Fellowship. While at these programs, Woodard studied with Rita Sloan, Andrew Harley, Gary Matthewman, Ken Merrill and Timothy Hoekman. Woodard has also performed in masterclasses for esteemed pedagogues such as Graham Johnson, Margo Garrett, Roger Vignoles and Alan Smith.

Texan pianist and vocal coach, DANNY ZELIBOR, recently graduated with his masters from Manhattan School, having studied with Warren Jones. His previous degrees, an undergraduate and graduate degree from Texas Christian University and University of North Texas, respectively, were both in solo piano. He has worked as coach, rehearsal pianist, and recitalist, performing frequently with both vocalists and instrumentalists. His previous year included recitals with principal cellist Robert DeMaine and Chicago Symphony cellist Brant Taylor, in addition to being a pianist for “Frontiers” — Fort Worth Opera’s festival of new works. He has been a pianist and coach the past two summers at Seagle Music Colony, working on both opera and musical theater, and also spent a summer at AIMS in Graz, studying opera and art song. His debut CDs for Toccata Classics, a London-based CD classical music label, are a survey of the complete piano works of polish composer, Alexandre Tansman, and have been met with international commendation in publications including “Fanfare,” “MusicWeb International,” and “Deutsche Grammophon.”

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